A Monster's Little Principessa

I was raised by Dante Moretti.

Dante used to say, "My little principessa is the most perfect, obedient girl."

But at eighteen, his perfect girl ran away with his most trusted man.

The day I was dragged back, he possessed me for the entire night.

"Baby, he must have tricked you into leaving, right?"

"It's alright. I've already sent him to the bottom of the Hudson River. He can't take you away from me ever again."

For every time I called him a madman, he took me again.

All of New York knew that Don Moretti, a man as cold-blooded as they come, was a monster who coveted his own adopted daughter.

But he didn't care. He publicly announced our marriage, drove away every man in my life, and locked me in a golden cage in his Manhattan penthouse.

He cherished me with a disturbing, devout tenderness.

But one day, the cage was unlocked by a pregnant woman. Dressed in a white gown, she was the very picture of innocence.

"Dante said you were tainted, so only my child with him can inherit everything from the Moretti family."

So that was the real reason for my repeated miscarriages.

But Dante forgot… a girl raised by a monster becomes a monster, too.

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1

Isabella Rossi blocked the second-floor hallway, one hand cradling her bulging stomach.

My gaze fell on the ruby necklace around her neck.

That necklace was a Moretti family heirloom. I had wanted it once.

But the man who’d always granted my every wish simply told me, "Pick something else. This one doesn't suit you."

So, it was never for me. It was for her.

She deliberately slowed her speech. "I'm here because Dante said that now that I'm pregnant, I shouldn't be hidden away. He thought I should spend more time with you."

"Besides, you couldn't even keep a single child after all these years."

"Dante said you'd be happy for us."

I didn't answer, just tried to move past her.

But she suddenly stuck out her foot to trip me.

The moment I sidestepped, I whipped around, grabbed her wrist, and with a forceful shove, sent her flying.

Her entire body slammed heavily onto the marble floor.

"Ah! It hurts!" she instantly curled up, her stomach crashing directly into the ornate balustrade.

The white silk of her dress instantly bloomed red.

I retracted my hand, watching her howl on the floor.

Coming to provoke me like this… she must have a death wish.

Dante's hurried footsteps echoed from down the hall.

By the time he rushed over, Isabella was already sobbing hysterically.

She clutched his jacket and sobbed, "Dante! She pushed me! She did it on purpose! My baby… I'm losing our baby!"

"Please, save our baby!"

He paused mid-crouch, then shot to his feet, his hand clamping around my neck and pinning me to the wall.

His knuckles tightened, squeezing the air from my lungs. My throat constricted, making it impossible to breathe.

His eyes were shot through with angry red veins. "Elara, you know how long I've waited for this child. Why would you do this?"

A bitter smile twisted my lips. "Waited for this child? What about my first child, the one I lost three years ago? Or the second one I couldn't save last year? Weren't you waiting for them? Weren't they your children?"

"My children?" He laughed, a harsh, grating sound, as if I’d told the funniest joke in the world. His other hand flew up. With a sharp crack, a slap landed heavily on my face.

My head snapped to the side, blood instantly seeping from the corner of my mouth.

"Elara, you dare mention children? You're nothing but an abandoned baby I picked up from an orphanage. Letting you carry my seed was a mercy. If you couldn't keep it, that's because you're useless!"

"I've raised you for so many years, and you're utterly useless. What's the difference between you and the bodies I feed to the fishes?"

He let go of me, then bent down and carefully lifted Isabella into his arms, his movements as gentle as if he were handling fragile glass.

As he passed me, he paused, the disgust in his eyes nearly overflowing. "I've had the guest room prepared. Starting today, you'll live there."

"If Isabella loses a single hair, I'll break one of your fingers. If her child doesn't make it, you'll be sleeping in Long Island Sound."

I leaned against the cold wall, my hand drifting to my burning cheek.

Long Island Sound was where Dante disposed of his problems.

He had taken me there once.

It was to deal with the classmates who had bullied me at school.

After that, I never saw them again.

And now, he was saving that dark, deep place for me.